Bridgewater State University has experienced a ten-fold increase in enrollment since its science center was built in 1964. Dramatically expanding the original center, the new building gathers the sciences and math under one roof, providing opportunities for experiential learning and undergraduate research and fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration. Together with the existing library and campus center, it forms a new quadrangle, redefining a once ragged campus edge.

Implementation as a Design Driver
To minimize disruption of academic programs, the design team developed a two-phase approach that placed the complex’s major technical infrastructure in the new addition. The science departments moved into this addition, freeing the existing structure for demolition and renovation to serve the incoming mathematics departments. The building was tuned to the distinct needs and long-term effectiveness of each discipline, and each department had to move only once.

Inspiring Curiosity
The rooftop houses an observatory and observation deck, a unique destination for the public community of stargazers. A green roof terrace overlooks the newly defined quad, highlighting resource conservation, as does a prominent solar tube array that supplies heat for all domestic hot water throughout the building. The building’s three wings address very different campus contexts through subtle shifts in exterior vocabulary and materials. Entrances at the ends of the three wings integrate the complex into the network of campus paths, placing “science on display” as members of the campus community pass through the building.